ConnieTact

Half hour to get through security then a breeze getting cruise card using priority line ( we were first in ‘line’. Now a bit of hold up actually getting onboard.

1st glimpse of ship!

View from the train.

On the train and nearly arriving at Southampton- around half an hour left. Sat next to self confessed chatterbox Cathy! She’s got off now but she was good to talk with. We are enjoying the views of countryside.we miss that if travelling by road. I heard my friends have just boarded! All very exciting.

At our local train station in Filton Abbey Wood, Bristol. The next train is ours!

Thanks for following along! Let me know if you want me to look into anything particular!

Thanks Jennjess. We are used to the coming and going of the rain in U.K. so will be making the best of it. One day, the forecast says one thing, and the next day it changes! That’s the trouble with clouds! They move! 😅😂

I get through quite a few books on a transatlantic cruise but not so many when it is port intensive such as this one. I do have a talking book ready on my iPad in case I wake up in the night or wake early in the morning. At the moment I have a 5am habit of waking! I’m hoping this trip, and the drinks package(!) may break that annoying habit! 😂🥂

That’s so funny! Jumping out your skin hearing your DIL! 😅 I dint have a treat dispenser but leave lots for carers to dish out! One per kiss given! 😂😻❤️ Thanks Goldmom!

Wow! Thank you @The Traveling Manand @tsahall01 for your additional stories! Wow! What a time the Star has had. I’m surprised they kept it in the fleet! When we were onboard both times previously, we thought it was a great ship with fantastic staff and that is what counts a lot. Delays and missed ports are a shame, especially when you’ve travelled so far, and frustrating too but it all adds to the overall stories of our travels! Thanks for sharing. (…but I hope we get a smooth one this time! )

Well, I’m officially packed! Stop reading now if you don’t like cats! 😂 Today I went to buy lots of supplies for the cats and have arranged for my son to pop in each evening to give them supper and ‘put them to bed’. My lovely neighbours next door have taken on the morning duty of the morning feed and play time. I have catcams so I connect to watch them from abroad! Last time we went away I only had one cat but I kept getting feedback that he seemed lonely and missed us when we were away. So we looked into getting another and rescued one from Cat Protection League and to our surprise our new one is the nephew of our existing one! 😻❤️😻🐾 They get along well so we can go away and not feel too bad about that! 😅

Story time! The last time we were onboard the Star was in July 2016 on a trip around Northern Europe which included two days in St Petersburg. The embarkation on this particular sailing is one that I will never, ever forget! We had an hour or so wait after we arrived at the Copenhagen airport for our transfer. Then, when on the shuttle to port to meet the ship, we were told we would be dropped off in the city ‘to enjoy a look around’ before going on to the terminal. The reason we were given was that the ship had not arrived yet. It had needed maintenance and then missed the tide, so was unable to sail Stockholm’s archipelago. This had unavoidably, delayed the ship. We got off the coach in Copenhagen, and we went for an Italian meal and, little did we know, this food would need to sustain us until the next day! When we went to meet the shuttle to go to the port there was a huge queue of around 300 people. When we got near the port the driver warned us the ship had only just arrived and there was “a lot of angry people at the port”. He requested for us to “please do your best not to take it out on staff!’ Nothing prepared us to see more than 2,000 people in the queue that wrapped around the front and both sides of the terminal buildings! Even worse, as we joined the end of the queue little did we know we would not board the ship for another four hours! We were outside standing for three hours and reached the inside of the terminal for the last hour. There were no seats so we sat in the floor of the terminal building as we were so tired! Ships crew had not disembarked when we first arrived, so people ahead of us where already tired and thirsty and some were even finding it hard to stand. We were one of the last to board and were in our cabin by 10pm. By then, of course, the main and specialty restaurants were closed and we missed the birthday meal we had planned-it was Mr CT’s birthday that day! I have no worries that history will repeat itself, as the very new Horizon terminal and our ship isn’t coming from Copenhagen this time! This was by far the worst embarkation we have experienced in all our cruises and hopefully will remain that way! As I write, the Star is on her way to Southampton so no delay this time! 😅

congratulations Married90. That’s great news! Thanks for starting this thread you have helped a lot of people by doing so! Me included! Like you, we now have to choose a cruise at least 5 days long to spend the FCC on! May just get this cruise out of the way before we look! 😀

I certainly will report back this information. It is my understanding that all are tender except Belfast, Killybegs and Cork.

Thanks for all that fabulous information and photos. That last one is particularly stunning! I’d love to see that! The video was fun too! Great to have violinists in the ship. I wonder what entertainment we will have. The areas you mention all sound good. So glad the service is still good, I remember the staff all seemed really happy and the captain was friendly too. I’m sure that makes a difference when the people at the top are happy it filters down through the team.

That’s great to know! We were last on it 2016 and 2017, both of which predate the refurbishment the Star was given. I am looking forward to seeing her now. Can you remember what you liked most?

That’s great! I will be happy to let you know about tendering. Although I am not an early riser for trips, my friend is -so I will get chapter and verse from him and report back!

Stunning photo Clay! Wish I was there!

That’s great! Let me know, if you want me to check anything out in particular Jennjess.

Good you got to enjoy at least some of Dario this trip. We loved him and look forward to seeing him again on the World Europa in January. I enjoyed your live report. Always good to see everything Virtuosa! 😀

Although I have never hidden ducks on a ship before, this time I will! There is a craze for hiding rubber ducks for other passengers, children, and even staff to find! People often find them and post on social media using #cruisingducks Others just keep the ducks, and some decide to hide them again, for another person to get the buzz of finding a little beaked buddy! Still others are left in wonder as to why any one would ‘waste their time and money leaving ducks around!’ Well, I guess some answers are, the joy of giving, the fun of finding the hiding places, and the satisfaction of knowing you will make another person smile! I’m still labelling mine up! It’s taking ages! A good friend helped me with designing the tags and my son used his colour printer to make them look cheerful. Mr CT and I have been diligently tying them on with orange and white string to reflect the colours of the Irish flag. 🇮🇪 I joined a dedicated group of Cruise Duck Hiders on the Book of Faces too. Apparently this can become addictive! 😅🐥

Oh, that’s brilliant news! We’ll definitely pop along and listen out for Eddie. I hope to meet you both onboard! Are you going to the meet and mingle being organised by @ziggyuk Here’s a link to the details. I think we have nearly 100 attending now!

Over the past 13 years, we have sailed 31 times, with various lines and sizes of ship. To start with we sailed with Royal Caribbean, until we discovered the more relaxed dress code and dining style of NCL. We then tried MSC and loved it for its Italian roots and extremely fair prices and generous upgrades. We found that the newer ships were more stable and the larger ones even better. In the past few years we have generally stuck with new, larger ships. This month though, we will return to a smaller ship to give it one more try! We are booked on the Norwegian Star and our itinerary circumnavigates Ireland. We have been on the Star twice before and a few of the main ports in Ireland, such as Dublin and Belfast. We haven’t gone to all the other smaller ports though so we’re attracted by this cruise. We wonder if we will be disappointed by the smaller offering of entertainment, dining venues and bars having been spoilt by larger MSC Grandiosa, Virtuosa nod RC Anthem of the Seas. Maybe there will be benefits of a smaller ship? I will let you know! Follow along, and I promise lots of port pictures, and food ones too! Anything I think that will help future passengers to know before they board the Star I will also add.

I think you did well to cash in now. Otherwise you risk not getting anything at all! Not worth the gamble. May response was in just 24 hrs so it must vary from region to region.

European countries protesting about austerity measures by governments. A lot were planned for May 1st. Glad you got to see the flowers though.